Friday, May 23, 2014

I borrowed this photo from her Facebook fan page, and can claim no ownership. I know that it's got a cute kid and everything, but dear friends ...... brace yourselves and behold the cosplay wonder of San Francisco based Abby Dark-Star (as Frank Cho's Shanna) from the recent Big Wow ["which seems appropriate"] Comicfest. This talented young lady is one of the best of the army of fetching lady costumers making the rounds at far too many comic cons and shows for me to attend. I have apparently missed her at those venues where I'm sure we both were in attendance, so I definitely plan to say hello in person the very next time that I have an opportunity to do so. I think that she's married, which breaks my heart (not that I had a shot anyway, but one can fantasize). It is cosplay after all! Abby is this weeks official "gal" Friday, and trust me ..... she moves straight to the top of my personal favorites list. Enjoy!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Here is a fantastically titled Space Patrol adventure called “The Cannibal
Monster of the Pygmy Planet” from Amazing Mystery Funnies #24 (Sept.1940);
originally published by Centaur and written & illustrated by the always
interesting Basil Wolverton. This was the final issue of the series, and it is
the kind of fun, wonky stuff that simply makes for great comics reading ! The
Catacombs acknowledges "Comic Book Plus" as the source of this
classic comic story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and
artwork belongs to the original publishers and/or the creators and is
reproduced here solely for entertainment purposes.Enjoy!

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Safari Cary stars in “The Plot” from Dagar Desert Hawk # 19
(Aug.1948); originally published by Fox Feature Syndicate. Canadian artist
Edmond Good is responsible for the artwork on this tale. The Catacombs
acknowledges "Comic Book Plus" as the source of this classic comic
story. Note: The copyright for this issue, its contents and artwork
belongs to the original publishers and/or the creators and is reproduced here
solely for entertainment purposes.Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

By this point most fans know that Free Comic Book Day is an
annual promotional event held by the comic book industry that takes
place on the first Saturday of May to help bring new readers into independent comic
book stores. Depending upon the level of investment made by the individual
retail locations, customers can experience quite a variety of often party-like
store events. Some stores allow customers to select one of each available free
comic, and others limit the quantity (as for the stores, these books are not
free at all; they must purchase these volumes to some extent). Adding to the
overall fun, most host locations feature established industry guest talent or regional
favorites to sign their books or sketch for attendees. No matter how you slice
it, FCBD is well worth standing in line for some good clean fun!

I really would have liked to have gotten the 2000 AD
magazine, but my shop didn’t offer that one and since they limited attendees to
seven items, I lost out on getting the Walt Disney Uncle Scrooge & Donald
Duck issue once I made my picks which included: Archie Digest #1 from Archie Comics; Bongo Free-For-All from
Bongo Comics; Future’s End from DC Comics; All Rocket Raccoon from Marvel
Comics; Magic Wind from Epicenter Comics; the Archaia Hardcover Anthology
(featuring Mouse Guard) from Boom Entertainment and the Sonic the Hedgehog/Megaman
flipbook also from Archie Comics. As you can see, my choices lean towards all-ages fare. Most years I go for the Bongo, Archie, Walt Disney stuff as they are a nice break from what typically floods into stores most weeks throughout the year. This was the second year that a Mouse Guard hardcover was offered, so kudos to Boom for that nice volume, and I was very pleased with Magic Wind (a western with a horror twist). DC Comics tied their release into an upcoming event, and I'm glad to have had a chance to see this sneak peek, so that I won't waste my time with this mess any further. Thanks to all the publishers, retailers, distributors and creative talent that played a part in bringing the 2014 books to our grubby little hands.

Hall of Fame artist Dick Ayers passed away on May 4,
2014 at the age of ninety. Although his
career began in the golden age, he was best known for his silver age work as one of Jack
Kirby's regular inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s, including some of the
earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four. He was the
primary artist on Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, drawing it over a
10-year run, and he was co-creator of the 1950s Western-horror version of the Ghost
Rider, a character he would draw again for Marvel in the 1960s.

I 'm very glad to have to spoken with Mr. Ayers in person two or
three times over the years and he was always very nice to his fans. The Catacombs extends its
condolences to his family, friends and fans.
﻿

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Industry legend Al Feldstein passed away on April 29,
2014 at the age of 88. As a writer, editor, and artist, he best known for his classic
work at EC Comics on their New Trend group including Weird
Science, Weird Fantasy, Tales from the Crypt, The Haunt of Fear, The
Vault of Horror, Shock SuspenStories, Crime SuspenStories, Panic and Piracy;
and later [1956 to 1985], as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad.
After retiring, Feldstein concentrated on American paintings of
Western wildlife.

After industry and government pressures had forced Bill Gaines
to shut down most of his EC titles, Feldstein was only briefly separated from
the company. When Harvey Kurtzman left Mad in 1956, Gaines
turned to his former editor Feldstein, who spent the next 29 years at the helm
of what became one of the nation's leading and most influential magazines.
Circulation multiplied more than eight times during his tenure, peaking at
2,850,000 in 1974, although Mad declined to three quarters of that figure by
the end of his time as editor.

Many new cartoonists and writers surfaced during Feldstein's
editorship as the magazine came to rely on a steady group of contributors.
Feldstein's first issue as editor (#29) was also the first issue to display the
twisted work of cartoonist Don Martin. A few months later, he hired Mort
Drucker, who quickly established himself as their premier caricaturist on movie
satires with Angelo Torres drawing the TV parodies. By 1961, with the
introduction of Antonio Prohías and Dave Berg, he had fully
established the format that kept the magazine a commercial success for decades.

The Catacombs extends its condolences to his family, friends
and fans. I count myself lucky to have had a chance to meet him just a few
years ago.

How it all began ....

In 1933, publishers at Eastern Color Press, intent to make better use of their printing equipment (which frequently sat idle between jobs), came up with the idea of printing an 8-page comic section that could be folded down from the large broadsheet to a smaller 9-inch by 12-inch format. The result was the first modern comic book. Containing reprints of newspaper comic strips, this experimental comic book titled "Funnies On Parade" was given away for free. It proved so popular that the following year Eastern published "Famous Funnies" and took the bold step of selling the comic for ten cents through chain stores. The enterprise was a smashing success and Eastern began churning out numerous reprints on a monthly basis. Other publishers, eager to get in on the profits, jumped on the bandwagon and the comic book industry was born!